Heesu Lee

North Korea’s economy expanded for a third straight year in 2025, boosted by arms exports to Russia, stronger trade with China, and Kim Jong Un’s drive to develop regional industries, according to estimates by South Korea’s central bank.

As South Korea’s world-beating stock market surged in January, authorities saw a chance to attract more capital and bolster the won by offering high-risk products for notoriously adrenaline-loving retail investors. Now that gamble is backfiring on President Lee Jae Myung.

South Korea proposed a property tax overhaul that would increase levies on high-value homes and investment properties as President Lee Jae Myung’s administration seeks to curb speculation in a housing market that has posted relentless gains.

South Korea’s consumer inflation slowed more than expected in July, easing back below 3% and offering policymakers some relief after price growth accelerated to its fastest pace since late 2023 the previous month.

The Bank of Korea saw a need for further interest-rate hikes after last month’s increase, as stronger growth threatened to keep inflation elevated and financial stability risks continued to build, minutes from July’s meeting showed.

Factory workers with $400,000-plus bonuses are supplanting doctors and lawyers as the new elite, while investors play a casino-like stock market.

South Korea risks losing its edge in semiconductors unless it helps chipmakers accelerate investment, as China pours unprecedented resources into the industry and intensifies the global technology race, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said.

Semiconductor workers are the new social elite as the country finds itself in the epicenter of the artificial intelligence boom.

Trade records and satellite photos show how North Korea's dictator found new cash to fortify his nuclear arsenal.

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